Facebook now allows developers to monetize their apps via subscriptions

Apps developers can now charge subscription fees for their Facebook apps, in addition to existing one-time payments option available on the site. Facebook is rolling out this feature to all Facebook.com and mobile web apps in July.

“Many developers successfully monetize their apps with one-time purchases of virtual items. Beginning in July, we are launching subscriptions as another way for you to build your businesses on Facebook. With subscriptions, you can establish a recurring revenue stream and offer updated content or premium experiences for a monthly fee,” the social networking giant stated on its blog.

Developers such as KIXEYE and Zynga are already testing the subscriptions feature, the company further added.

Facebook is also introducing local currency pricing for apps. Until now, payments were done either in a currency unique to the app or using Facebook credits. Now, the social networking site supports local currency. So U.S. users will pay in dollars and those in India will pay in Rupee.

“We are updating our payments product to support pricing in local currency (ex: US dollar, British pound and Japanese yen) instead of Credits.By supporting pricing in local currency, we hope to simplify the purchase experience, give you more flexibility, and make it easier to reach a global audience of Facebook users who want a way to pay for your apps and games in their local currency,” Facebook wrote.

Subscriptions already use local currency pricing, and Facebook will release local currency support for in-app payments in the next few months. Any apps or games that sell virtual items will be required to use local currency by the end of the year.